Ways to Calm Your Mind Before Your Medical School Interview

Are you stressed about answering the med school interview questions? Anxiety can affect even the best of us, but it's not all bad. Some degree of anxiety can actually work as motivation, giving you the required push and keeping you on your toes. But if the level of nervousness rises, it could impact your memory and have a negative impact on your medical school interview performance.

Here are some way to calm your mind and ease the stress.

1.    Note Down Your Thoughts

Writing down thoughts or any worrying questions asked in the medical school interview can help ease your mind. It is one of the most therapeutic things you can do to lower your anxiety. Putting down your thoughts on paper helps you revisit them at a later time. Also, it changes your thought pattern from chaotic to organised. You can also choose to record them in a digital format to get the pressure off your mind.

2.    Practice Cognitive Distancing

You can control your mind’s pessimistic tendencies by finding positive alternative scenarios. This is known as cognitive distancing. It is based on the concept that our mind worries about things that it feels are true, even if they are not. Remember that the worst-case scenario isn’t the only possibility.

3.    Try Breathing Exercises

When you’re feeling anxious, your breathing becomes shallow and rapid. To counter this, breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 2 seconds, and then breathe out for 4 seconds. Slow and mindful breathing activates the hypothalamus to send neurohormones that inhibit the stress hormones and lead to a relaxation response.

This will relieve any anxiety through the physiological effect of the hypothalamus on the nervous system, allowing you to practice the medical school interview questions in a better way.

4.    Chant a Mantra

Mantra is a word or a phrase that you can repeat to calm yourself. It can be something like, “Everything will be okay,” or “I’ve got this,” or any other phrase that speaks to you. Research shows that chanting mantras reduces the activity in the part of the brain that is responsible for self-judgement. This is the same part of the brain makes you worry about the future and fret over the past.

Just repeat your mantra and focus your thoughts on it. If you find yourself getting distracted, return to the mantra. This will go a long way in helping you deal with the medical interview questions.

5.    Mind Your Diet

Make sure you eat a balanced diet in the weeks leading up to your UCAT interview. Some foods that can help reduce anxiety are salmon, yogurt, bananas, oats, green tea, dark chocolate and chamomile tea.

Although these techniques can help you to relax, what will clinch the deal is preparing for UCAT medical school interview under the guidance of a reputed institute like ICanMed, which will help you prepare for the med school interview questions in a systematic way

Best Study Break Ideas for Effective UCAT Preparation

If you’ve started your journey through a UCAT preparation course, it’s normal to end the day feeling tired and slightly stressed. But, if you feel exhausted only after a couple of hours of study, chances you’re not taking enough breaks.

It’s important to take regular breaks, as your brain needs rest. During this time, your brain reboots and refreshes its abilities. According to various studies, taking short breaks of less than 10 minutes after every 90 minutes of going through your UCAT prep course can help improve concentration. It can also enhance your creativity and boost productivity, both of which are required for tackling different UCAT sections.

Are Your Breaks Doing More Harm Than Good?

Just like your efficiency may vary during different periods of study, all breaks are not the same. The quality of the break is an important consideration. While many students turn to social media during their breaks, this may not give you the require rejuvenation. In the contrary, it may actually add to the stress, rather than calming you down. Badly planned breaks can cost your UCAT preparation dearly. It can drain your mind and lead to extended hours of zero productivity. So, here are some ideas to make the most of your study breaks.

Ideas for Study Breaks that Rejuvenate You

Get Some Fresh Air

A brisk walk in the open can work wonders for your energy levels. Tear yourself away from your UCAT prep course and go out for a walk. You’ll come back feeling more relaxed and less stressed. Choose a green spot, since nature has an amazing effect on our minds and bodies.

Take a Power Nap

This is a short nap of 10 to 20 minutes. You will wake up feeling more cheerful and alert, which will increase your productivity through the rest of the day. Sleeping for longer than this may make you feel groggy and ruin your sleep at night. So, set an alarm and stick to the schedule!

Meditate

Meditating not only helps you relax better but also makes you more focused for an extended period of time. It’s a good way to clear your mind of unwanted thoughts like the UCAT cost and whether you have enough time to give it a good shot. Meditation can help lower stress and anxiety and keep you fight fatigue.

Breaks may help you focus better, but what you really need is the best UCAT preparation course, like the one offered by iCanMed. Such a course will take you systematically through all the UCAT sections, give you tips on preparing for the test and guidance on doing well in the interview.

How to Keep Distractions Away While Preparing for UCAT

Distractions and procrastination can wreak havoc on your study schedule. It can trap you in an endless loop of laziness and regret, leading to stress and anxiety. If you are preparing for the UCAT, you might have asked yourself, “How to prepare for UCAT without being distracted?” Turns out, it isn’t very difficult to focus your attention for long hours of study.

You just need to be disciplined and follow some rules after getting enrolled in a good UCAT preparation course.

Rule #1: Minimise Phone Use

Before you start a study session, put your mobile phone on silent and keep it at the other end of the room. Also, if it’s a smartphone (which is highly likely), turn off the internet to escape the disturbance caused by recurring social media notifications.  

When you are on a break from, you can always check your phone for any important calls or messages.

Rule #2: Use Focus Techniques

Although distractions can hit you like a wave, once you steer clear of the urge to submit, you will be able to focus on the task at hand. So, whenever you feel as though you are drifting off into irrelevant thoughts, mentally say “Stop!” This will take some time to get used to since you won’t always be aware of when you start daydreaming.

Another method is to take a deep breath if you feel any uneasiness or the urge to escape studies. Here’s how to do it.

Whenever you feel like there’s something that you need to do or you feel like checking your phone, close your eyes and take a deep breath. After two seconds exhale slowly and if the thoughts persist, repeat this cycle.

Rule #3: Demand Privacy from Loved Ones

There are times when our environment, more than our own mind, becomes the source of distraction. You need to be careful when it comes to handling your parents, siblings or friends, who may unintentionally interrupt your study session.

So, just before you start studying, you should make it clear to your loved ones what you need from them. Just inform them that you are focusing hard on UCAT questions or are giving a UCAT practice test and would need their support in the form of privacy.

This will not only help them understand your situation, but also respect your honesty and commitment towards your studies.

So, now you know the answer to the question of how to prepare for UCAT without distractions. The next step is to increase your chances of success by enrolling one of the best UCAT preparation courses, such as ICanMed, which can guide you to crack the UCAT exam.

Best Tips for Time Management in UCAT Exam

While preparing for a demanding exam such as the UCAT, students refer to specialized UCAT preparation books and UCAT past papers. But, apart from this, other keys issues surrounding the exam should need to be addressed during the course of preparation.
A lot of candidates consider time management as the hardest part of taking the UCAT exam. This is because UCAT has been intentionally designed to test the candidate’s memory, concepts, and mental agility; the ability to solve maximum questions in lesser time.
Here are some tips to consider for effective time management.
Practise UCAT Past Papers with Keyboard Shortcuts
There are a number of keyboard shortcuts that will help you to navigate easily through the test and save a precious amount of time.
For instance, if you want to go to the previous question, simply press ‘Alt+P’, and for the next question, you can press ‘Alt+N’. To flag or unflag a particular question, you can press ‘Alt+F’.
Keyboard usage will prove to be useful especially in the quantitative reasoning section, where the UCAT calculator is to be used. You can use the number pad on your keyboard to enter numbers quickly.
Shortcuts can help you to save approximately one second per question, which can be a major game changer. By the end of the test, you will be able to save about four minutes, which can be used to answer an additional 17 questions.
Remember to practice the use of keyboard when you solve UCAT past papers or while attempting a UCAT practice exam.
Keep Track of the Timer
There is a chance that you can become so engrossed in a question that you ignore the time passing by. Although there is no need to constantly check the UCAT timer after every question, you need to have a sense of where you are, after attempting a specific number of questions.
Flag Wisely
The flagging option is useful only if you handle it properly. You should flag only those questions for future review that you find complex and time-consuming.
Try and avoid flagging those questions that you think can’t be attempted; flagging too frequently will lead to wastage of time.
Effective test time management strategies, combined with up- to- date UCAT preparation books and practice papers will help to you pass the exam with flying colors. Reputed institutes like iCanMed, can help you adopt the correct approach in solving all types of UCAT questions in limited time.

Medical School Interview: Questions on Background & Motivation

Among the various questions you will be asked in your medical school interview, many are meant to find out how serious you are about the medical profession and whether you are fully aware of what it entails.

Here are the 3 most common medical school interview questions on background and motivation.

1.    Why Do You Wish to Go to Medical School?

This is among the most common questions asked in medical school interviews. And, it is best to have your answer prepared beforehand. For this, you need a thorough understanding of what it means to be a medical student and then a doctor. Focus equally on passion and pragmatism in your answer. Make your response is detailed but avoid rambling. Show your desire to engage with and help people by including examples from personal experience. Explain why the combination of medical science and human interaction appeals deeply to you.

2.    What Would You Do If You Couldn’t Get a Place in a Med School This Year?

By asking this question, the interviewer is trying to determine how committed you are to a career in medicine. So, simply answering, “I know I will get in,” would make you sound arrogant and would be almost as bad as suggesting that you would try something else. Tell the interviewer what it means to you to get in and that you will not give up, try harder for next year and, in the meantime, look for a job or volunteer work in a related field to gain more healthcare experience. This will show that you’re a positive person who is capable of turning misfortune into an advantage.

3.    Which Aspects of a Doctor’s Professional Life Appeal to You?

Your answer could be along the lines of:

·       You find helping people in need rewarding and wish to make a real difference in their lives.

·       You find patient care, disease management and the accompanying medical research intellectually stimulating.

·       You believe that a doctor’s job is multi-faceted and presents exciting challenges.

·       You enjoy problem-solving and teamwork.

·       Healthcare professionals get a diverse range of opportunities.

Strengthen your answer by including first-hand experiences that can back what you say. Also, don’t forget to mention that you are aware of the stress and emotional difficulties you’ll have to face, but believe that these are outweighed by the positives.

The key is to ensure thorough preparation not just for the entrance exam but also for the interview. Joining an experienced coaching institute, like ICanMed,  that provides excellent training courses for medical school interviews could prove beneficial.

How Universities Consider the UCAT

For those of you seeking entry into a medical school in New Zealand, the UCAT exam is mandatory. This is a highly-established clinical admissions test that is recognized by leading universities in other countries as well.

Different Marks for Sections

The UCAT is a computer-based test that presents 233 questions to students in the stipulated time of two hours. There are four main sections - verbal reasoning, decision making, quantitative reasoning and abstract reasoning, each with a different number of questions and different time allocated. It is important to choose the best UCAT coaching and practice a lot of test examples before appearing for this exam.

Since all the sections have different numbers of questions, it’s not possible to compare the absolute marks in each. Instead, the system translates your results into scaled marks between a range of 300 and 900 marks. The entire exam generates a total of scaled marks that range between 1,200 and 3,600.

You get one mark for every right answer in each of the sections, with the exception of the decision-making section. In this section, some questions may carry two marks. For these, you get one mark if your answer is partially correct. There is an additional section on the situational judgment that follows a different scoring methodology.

Apart from this, different universities follow different systems for considering your scores. Let’s have a look at this.

One Cutoff System

New Zealand universities consider the UCAT score as a significant factor for admission into medical and dental degree courses. Many of these medical schools consider the total score. They decide on a cutoff mark for offering admission and this mark could vary from year to year. You can find out about the cutoff mark for different universities on the respective website.

There are various guidelines to follow to seek admission and the best source of such information is a good UCAT coaching institute, like iCanMed, which not only prepares you with UCAT test questions but also gives you advice on other aspects of medical college admission.

Separate Cutoffs for Individual Subtests

Some universities set an individual cutoff for each subtest, rather than considering your overall score. This is tougher to meet a criterion, as you need to perform well in all sections of the UCAT questions and answers. Practicing regularly with UCAT test examples can help improve your skills in all sections.

The Band Scored in Situational Judgement

For this atypical section, the scoring is in bands ranging from 1 to 4, with 1 being the best and 4 being the lowest band. Some universities reject the application of candidates having band 3 and 4 in this section.

Look for as many free UCAT practice tests you can find online. Keep practicing to improve your chances of being selected by a New Zealand university. 

Tips for Improving Your Body Language for a Medical Interview

Humans are the only species that can talk. But speech is not the only way in which we communicate. Apart from language, we use gestures, facial expressions, the tone of voice and signs to get our thoughts across to others. In fact, more than 50% of communication comprises of body language, says professor of psychology at UCLA, Albert Mehrabian. So, make sure that your medical interview training includes sessions on improving your non-verbal communication.

A UCAT interview call brings anxiety along with excitement. So, your medicine interview course should not only help you brush up your knowledge but also inculcate the right body language.

Medical School Interview Preparation: Tips for Improving Non-Verbal Communication

Join a Reputed Medical School Interview Coaching Program: A professional medical school interview course will include several mock interviews. It’s a great idea to practice answering questions with the right voice modulation, tone, and volume. Practicing also helps control your stress and feel more confident and comfortable. This is automatically reflected in your body language.

Remember to Smile: Did you know that a smile can release neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, which boost your mood. Smiling will not only elevate your mood but also have a positive impact on the mood of interviewers as they smile back at you. So, remember to smile when you enter the room as well as during the interview.

Practice a Good Handshake: Your handshake is the first real connection you make with your interviewers and it can communicate a lot about you. Ensure that your right hand is free before entering the room. A handshake should be from thump to thump. Don’t just touch the fingers. Hold the other person’s, entire palm. This shows confidence. Ensure that your handshake is firm, not limp. At the same time, don’t squeeze too hard, as this conveys your nervousness.

Avoid Fidgeting When Sitting: Sit firmly and straight, with your back against the chair. Do not lean backward, as this shows boredom or arrogance. Place your hands on your lap. You should use your hands for gesturing but position them back on your lap when you’re done. Avoid touching your face or hair. Keep your feet on the ground. Don’t shake your legs or stamp your feet. Resisting the temptation to move your hands and legs is something you should practice during your medical interview training.

The other things that your medicine interview course will teach you is to maintain eye contact, while not staring too hard. You will also learn things like keeping your portfolio on the desk and your bag on the floor.

To perform better at your UCAT interview, you need medical interview training from a reputed and experienced institute like ICanMed. Such an institute can provide you many other tips during your medical school interview preparation.